Tuesday, April 29, 2008

She wants what she cannot have....

She knows it - look at that adorable, yet sneaky smile... Huuummmm, how do you get this open??? Can I just bite it open???? No - she's not really drinking a root beer... but she is trying to teeth on it. It's cold and Megan loves anything that's cold. Megan got ahold of a can of root beer when we were leaving Grandma and Granddad's house this weekend. She was so proud of herself and just looked so cute that I had to share.

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Learn to sew a dress for your little girl! My friend Amy has been having little sewing parties to impart her sewing knowledge to her friends. We've all been so amazed at some of the cute things she's making for her little boy - so she wanted to show us that anyone could do it. Today I met up with my friend Grace at Amy's house and she taught us how to sew a cute little dress. No joke, I made this adorable dress for Megan in a little less than 3 hours. It was a lot of fun and very doable, even for me. I love learning new things so it really got my imagination dreaming up tons of little projects. My friend Vanessa is going to let me borrow her sewing machine for a bit so I can practice and try out a few more cute dresses and projects. I think it'll be a fun summer. Now all I have to do is find some of that spare time! Here's my little doodlebug in her new dress (Grandma Maddy - the red is just for you!)- she's all ready practicing her model walk down the runway. And, I think she's as happy with it as I am!!!!

Friday, April 25, 2008

It was a wonderful Friday with the perfect weather for a little toddler field trip. The great thing about living near Atlanta is that you can always find something to do. If it's free - it's even better! Today we had a little impromptu play date at a local airport. They have a great renovated park and pavilion and it was so much fun!Megan showed off a bit for her little friends as she tried to walk everywhere. It's so fun to watch her grow up. But I have to say, also a little scary at how fast she can be. Gone are the days I can just sit her down for a second, because she's wanting to take off and explore. Nate found a great rock to climb on. Will and Rayna crawled everywhere and had fun playing with their toys.

Megan and Nate toddled all over the place. Missy kept up with Jackson and Shelby. Nate and Megan shared a little plane ride.Out of all the things to see and do at the park, it's amazing how much fun a stroller can be. And no one was actually playing with their own strollers - maybe that's why is was so interesting - seeing someone else's "stuff."And Megan was totally captivated by the exciting bushes. Not sure of the fascination there - but from the picnic, to the playing, to the airplanes, to the park, to the strollers, to the bushes - it was a great outing. We are planing on making this trip in the near future!

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

We are really enjoying Spring in GA. The weather has been beautiful this week and Megan has LOVED being outside. She's definitely got her parents allergies - but that's not stopping her from being a true outdoor girl. She'd be outside all day if I would let her. She's outside so much that she's walking really well on the grass and can get over roots and such. It's amazing to watch her spirit of determination.

(Note from mom... Megan is always trying to get to the keyboard so today I let her at it. :^) Uncle Dan, seriously, who would have known that the big inflatable pool whale would suddenly be such a hit - she was so amused with it that I actually got to cook dinner!!! And to anyone who is still trying to figure out what Megan wrote - bone up on those phonetic skills because when your kids start to write, you'll get lots of stories just like it - take it from a 1st grade teacher who had to learn to decipher all that!)

Monday, April 21, 2008

Just had to let out a huge YIPEE for Tricia! She's done so well after her lung transplant that she's getting discharged tomorrow! Amazing to see God at work! Little Gwyneth is doing great and hopefully will be joining them in a few weeks.

Praying for another miracle - Taylor (8th grader who was in a horrible fire pit accident) made it through her 4th surgery with flying colors. Please continue to pray for her - this will be a very long recovery for this young lady.

And as for little bitty Sidney, she is continuing to make baby steps towards improvement.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

It has been a very full weekend! We started the weekend off on Friday with a fun playdate with our friends Tressa and Will. We got to be there for Will's first big boy swing ride. He loved it and Tressa and I got lots of laughs watching the kids together. Friday night, we went out to dinner. Now that Megan is an official toddler - our trips to dinner have changed a lot. We prefer...1. Outdoor seating (Megan has lots to watch and keep her occupied so that we actually get to eat). Covered patios (like at our favorite Mexican place) are the best.2. Lots of walking space - so that she can spread out her little legs (it's even better if you somehow work it so that your husband is on the "outside" and gets "walking duty). :^) 3. If they have balloons, that is a total plus! Saturday we had a shower for some friends - Megan loved the company and all the extra attention! Thankfully the clouds and rain cleared away and we had a great cookout and really got to enjoy our backyard. After being outside all day - she decided to come in.... in the refrigerator! I turned away for a second to take some thing out and turned around and realized, not only was she exploring inside the frig (which is normal) but she also realized that she could climb into it. That's a new one.Note to self.... turn water pitcher around so that the handle is not accessible to a climbing baby (use your imagination as to that one!)

And have I mentioned... we seemed to have turned a corner in the bathtime arena. Megan now loves taking a bath again. Keeping her stationary is a bit difficult, but right now we are just happy that bathtime and hair washing don't including screaming.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Even with the past ear infections - Megan has been a delight! Here are a few things I've captured this past week - just wanted to share the fun.

For her birthday, Megan got a great book called Baby Days. It's a big book with 9 little board books inside it. Megan LOVES it. Inside the front cover is a mirror - which of course is always a blast. It's become her favorite book after bath time when we are getting ready for bed.

This book will keep her occupied for a long time. Of course after about 5-10 minutes on her own it's Megan begging someone to read to her. It's so cute though because the books are only 4 pages long so she remembers them and anticipates what is next (as a teacher, I love that - it's a hard skill to teach) and then she starts to mimic the last page. I'll have to try to get a video of her reading a book. It's hysterical. So I highly recommend this to all my friends - especially if your kids love looking at other babies. You can find it on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/054500070X/ref=cm_cr_mts_prod_imgAnd Aunt Kelly, Uncle Kevin, Daniel, Justin, and Anna - thanks!!!!!

It's warm out today, but earlier this week it was cold so we ran to the mall to exchange an outfit and had to stop and play...On the video - note her intense concentration (and me laughing at it) and determination.

Quick ear update in case Megan wakes up from her nap before I have time to finish another post....

The ENT appt. went well this morning. The shots did the trick and cleared her infection up!! The ENT confirmed everything my pediatrician said (which makes me like her even more!). Which basically is - Megan's not really a good candidate for tubes. Her little ear tubes look perfect - great size, great shape! And, she handles the infections well - meaning, she sleeps through the night and doesn't cry when she has them. AKA - high tolerance for pain (that made me sad!).

He thinks the infections are a result of a combo of colds, allergies, and teething. He pointed out that this last infection lasted about 5 weeks --- and in 5 weeks she's gotten 7 teeth and almost an 8th. And that teething swelling can impact babies sinuses and ears. I thought that was interesting. His thought is that with this last tooth breaking through and cold season ending, and her being on allergy medicine now... that we wait to see if her ears start to drain normally. He believes they will. And if she keeps getting the infections, then we go back and we'll relook at the possibility. But as for now, it's not medically needed and why perform a surgical procedure (no matter how routine) if it's not necessary.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Megan and I had a great day today. I'm still really worried about her ears. She's digging at them most of the day - but it's not affecting her mood. Thank goodness! Anytime we get to go outside, it makes for a wonderful day. It warmed up more than expected today and that was a huge blessing!!!!! We go to the ENT on Thursday morning. I'm readyfor a little expertise in dealing with these little ears.

Of course we went for a walk... afterwards we sat in the backyard a bit. There were tons of airplanes out today for some reason so Megan was fascinated. And the birds aren't quite as scared of her anymore so they'll hop on the ground close enough for her to watch them. And when she gets bored she finds something to get into... At this point I'm thinking... maybe I should stop her. But she had such a cute "hhuuummm, what to do now" look on her face that I wanted to see what she would do next...

She figured out how to get her feet under her. So I figured she'd hit a wall....

until....

Up she goes some more... At this point I'm getting pretty darn concerned.She's just flat out proud of herself for scaling the giant stroller. I'm terrified because what does this mean is next????? Her goal, in case you are wondering, isn't actually just to stand up, it's to get to her snack bowl (which is by her hand - which she got to). At this point the photos stopped because I was worried that she hadn't thought about the coming down part. I was a spotter - but she got down to the bottom step really well.... I pretty much caught her at that point - she forgot it wasn't on the ground. :^)

And about an hour later, Tom was watching her in our playroom and I heard - "oh my goodness, sweetie, that's not a good idea, you're scaring Daddy!" (or something like that) - I was too busy laughing to myself thinking how many times I day I hear myself saying something like that. She had figured out how to climb up in her little rocker and stand up in it. Great..... Another adventure in toddler land.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Note about the pictures... you are allowed to take pictures on practice round days (mon-wed) but not on actual tournament days (thurs-sun) - That's one reason why practice round days are so much fun. It's casual, less crowded, the players will talk to the crowd, and you can snap photos till you drop.

Oh what a day for golfers everywhere.... The conclusion to the Master's.

The winner is.... Trevor Immelman!

This past Tuesday, Tom and I got to go to Augusta for a practice round with our friends John and Patrece (Thanks guys!). It was great fun and I wanted to share a few fun shots... Tom and I have been before but every time is a new experience. Even is you don't golf, it's an amazing place to be. My first trip in 2003 was a washout - literally. We never even made it in due to horrible weather. After spending a few hours in the car in the parking lot (during a tornado warning no less) it was cancelled so we drove home - the men in the car were brokenhearted! The good part of that story - the next year we got to go for 2 days.

Moving on to this year.... Allow me to impress you with my amazing recollections of the day... (this is for you Dan and Papa).

The golf buddies at the start of the day (Tom and John)

A practice round for the current champ! Gary Player is on the tee, Retif Goosen is on the Rt., and Immelman is on the left in the blue shirt. This is on the 12th tee (part of Amen Corner).

Can't say you've been to Augusta without a shot of Tiger! This is Tiger in the fairway on the 15th.

Michelson is the little guy in the green in the middle of the green. This is also at Amen Corner on 13th.

Tom and I.... and John and Patrece

(Did I mention it was colder than anticipated.. Patrece and I were very very thankful that we had jackets - whereas Tom and John were a bit chilled in their shorts. We warned them....)

And after a full day of golf action (at least as spectators) the boys zonked out on the ride home.

So many amazing things have been happening in the lives of some really amazing people. I just wanted to share some updates and praises for some folks that I've been keeping up with and have mentioned on the blog...

1. - I just posted something on Taylor Strand. So please keep praying for her and her family!

2. I also just posted something on Axel - my former student who I cherish! Please pray for a kidney transplant for him soon.

3. Tricia and Gwyneth - both are doing great! Tricia is out of ICU and in a step down unit. Everything looks great and she may even be looking at getting discharged in a few weeks (how amazing is that!)!! Baby Gwyneth is up to lbs and is doing well. It's beautiful to see pictures of Tricia and Nate with their baby - a family photo that has been prayed for by so many!

4. Little Sydney Markie is doing pretty good after her multi-organ transplant. She still has a long way to go so please keep praying for her and her family.

Last week Tom's brother let me know about an incident involving one of his former students. Her name is Taylor Strand. Dan taught her in 4th grade. As a teacher, I know how horrible it is to know what one of "your kids" (which they are yours once you've spent a year of life with them) is in trouble.

She's in 8th grade and was involved in a fire pit accident. Basically she was engulfed in flames. She is in critical condition in MN with 3rd degree burns on 70% of her body. She is scheduled for her 2nd surgery tomorrow (Monday). Please keep this sweet girl in your prayers!

I've never posted my own student here - Axel - but many of you know that I taught a student who is facing dire circumstances. He is in need of a kidney transplant. He has no functioning kidneys - actually last year they had to remove both dead kidneys because they were so infected they were making him sick. His name is Axel - he was one of my 1st graders. He has lived a long life for a little boy. When he was in Kindergarten he had surgery to remove a brain tumor. Then his Kidney disease hit. It's been heartwrenching on one had to watch this sweet little boy go through so much - but also a lesson in joy because you'd never know Axel was facing these things. He was ALWAYS the bright spot in my day. He's in 2nd grade this year and I pray that he will be able to raise the money for his transplant (they are uninsured) and that he'll have many many years to bless many more people the way he has touched me!

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Today we got to celebrate future motherhood with my friend Allison. She and her husband David are expecting a girl in June. At one time we were all single together and now we are learning the parenting ropes together. It was a special day. The sad part of the celebration was knowing that it was also a going away party for Allison. They are getting ready for a move to Kansas City for David's job. So we'll only have them around for a few weeks until they head out to settle in before the baby comes. Congrat's Allison - we love you and will miss you!

After I got home from the shower, we took advantage of the beautiful day. We are about to have another cold snap so we wanted to be outside with Megan while we could. Walking outside is still a challenge for her with uneven grass and all. But she definitely pitched in and started in on her first day of outside chores!Megan had a great time with all the tree trimming and bush whacking we did.

Sorry the video is sideways - I couldn't get it turned around.....

Megan had to check out ALL the flowers. We are still working on the "smell them, don't eat them" approach.

(Yeah, can you see trouble coming... her approaching a railroad tie in the flower bed.... didn't end well.)

We are also dog sitting for our neighbors. This is the dog that Megan looks for everyday - Bailey. Today we let Bailey out in her backyard and played with her a bit. The boys next door have a new outside toy - a huge fire truck. Megan LOVES it. We had a great Saturday. We soaked up the sun when it peeked through the clouds and just enjoyed a nice mild day. Tomorrow all that changes - gone are the 70's and here come the 50's. I guess I should be happy with that since it's snowing in MN. Ugh.

Friday, April 11, 2008

It's as cute as can be when she says it - and it always makes me look closely to see what she's put in her mouth - is it a graham cracker? Banana bread? Pieces of grapes? A leaf?And when she's "helping in the kitchen," I really start to look.

And this is where the story begins.... This past Tuesday, Megan got to stay with Grandma and Granddad while Tom and I went to the Masters in Augusta. We all spent the night on Monday night. At some point as I was putting Megan's milk and food into the refrigerator, Megan walked on over and started to check out Grandma's stuff. She is extremely familiar with our refrigerator door, but this was all new..... cool!

So I hear a faint, "num num" and think.... hhuuummmm - what crumb has she found in that door? Only to look down and see this...

So in case you aren't getting it... that would be a bottle of Hershey's chocolate syrup in the door that Megan has her mouth on. She's licking whatever dribbles might still be stuck there. Oh yeah - she knows where to find the good stuff!

Well, knowing that she was in good hands and that a sugar high would be on their hands - we left Megan early the next morning to head to Augusta for the Master's practice round... so fun! That will be a post for tomorrow (if I'm lucky enough to find the time to get the pictures on here.)

Well, after 3 days of shots, if anyone has to do that... call me - I can tell you all the tricks I pulled out of my bag to try to make the time go by faster and less stressful.

I can say that day 3 was the worst of them all.Poor baby - she was so great and every day has been in the best mood - just giggling and smiling at all the nurses and Dr's. She was like a little princess and just waved and laughed and would play peek-a-boo with everyone. The nurses at our office know her by now (not a good sign, really) and they all come visit her and Megan LOVES it - she definitely loves attention! So today she was GREAT... UNTIL...... the nurses came in with the shots on the tray.

Megan saw them and suddenly it was like her memory kicked in as to why she was there. Her lip poked out and she started crying just at the sight of them. I laid her down and by the time her head hit the cushion she was screaming... and she didn't stop until half an hour later when we pulled into the driveway. The shots were horrible but I have to say the waiting 20 minutes in that little room to make sure she doesn't have a reaction - oh my!!!! That's like the cherry on top of the torture sundae.

But we are home now and Megan is taking a nap - hopefully a nice long one. We will hopefully get into the ENT quickly and they'll do our ear follow-up - if not, it's back to our Dr's office for that. I hope she doesn't think we are going back for my shots...I'm hoping to get some other stuff posted today while she naps - we'll see.....

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Today our Dr's appt was LONG... Megan was in a great great mood - she was laughing and playing (it helped that Daddy went with us). The Dr. came in and said, oh you can tell how good she feels! THEN, she looked in her ears. It was so sad! Over a month later and both ears are still horribly infected. Our problem is that we have to figure out if it's the infection that is causing the problem, or if her "gut" somehow won't absorb the antibiotics. She's been on almost every antibiotic - so our choices for treating it are limited.

so.... :^( We had to have antibiotic shots. UGH. It was worse than immunizations. They hurt! Yes - THEY - multiple. She had to have 2 shots - one in each leg. It was so sad, 2 nurses came in to give them at the same time to lessen the discomfort. I admit it - I cried! Thankfully Tom was there to be the brave and strong one and hold her down, while I cried.

What's worse... it's not over. We have to go back TOMORROW - for 2 more shots and to check her ears. OH NO!!!!! And what's worse than that... we have to go back THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW to do it again.

So at this point all I can say is... Megan is doing great. She's recovered (a little fussy but mostly ok) however, I'm having a rough day!

Good news... Megan is walking!That'll be another post later tonight (got to get the video to upload first)

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Over the past couple of weeks, Megan has really developed a love for her Little People dollhouse. She got it for Christmas (Thanks Uncle Tony and Auntie Dawn), but it's been recent that she's started to pick it out as the toy she wants to play with. She's learned to hit the right buttons to make sounds (the baby's crib plays a lullaby, the cats start to meow, etc..), and will put the little people inside the house. It's very cute - and girly!!!Today I walked in and she was almost inside it - her little face had red marks where she was literally trying to get inside to figure out how to get the front door and windows open (by the way - the windows don't open). She was very frustrated that her head wouldn't fit inside. I tried and tried to show her how to crawl to the other side to look inside (makes for a great game of peek-a-boo), but nope - she wouldn't have it.

But what she really likes about the house.... to open up the little bitty doors - especially the refrigerator and the toilet lid... great.......

Yeah, so on that note - I vetoed the toilet locks and we are just going with the "keep the bathroom door shut at all times" rule.

There is a sweet little girl from Shakopee, MN (a suburb of Minneapolis) who is 8 1/2 months old who needs our prayers! Her name is Sidney Markie and she's 8-1/2 months old. She was born with an extremely rare intestinal disorder called Microvillus Inclusion Disease, which prevented her digestive system from working. On March 5th she had a seven organ transplant (small intestines, large intestines, liver, stomach, bladder and two kidneys) at Miami Children's Hospital in Miami, FL.

Can you imagine that... your little baby having to have a 7 organ transplant? My heart just hurts to think about it. They ended up having to remove one of the donor kidneys, and she's still struggling to recover and heal. It's so hard to imagine - Megan was turning one and this little sweetie pie was recovering from a huge operation that will hopefully save her life.

Please check out her link and add her to your prayers!They were previously on a caringbridge site but just moved to a private site.

Friday, April 4, 2008

The excitement of the week is Megan really taking off with her walking!!!She's still leary about walking on her own - but she'll take up to 15 steps in between Tom and I, or from a table to us or something else that she wants. She doesn't just up and walk on her own yet (thank goodness - I don't think I'm ready for that step of independence, to be honest.), but she's getting closer.

And... she's truly trying out her climbing skills. I've got her pretty well trained to not touch to cord you see in the picture (it's the baby monitor) but she's figured out that Daddy's magazine rack is a great height for climbing onto the hearth. Thankfully the hearth is covered with a hefty foam liner and fabric (one of my projects when she first started pulling up on things).

Megan's favorite game right now is to tell us how big she is..

How big is Megan?

SOOOOO BIG!

Note to family and friends - if you are trying to reach Tom - his cell phone is currently MIA - so if you need him, call our home phone or my cell phone. Thanks!

I am so amused when I watch megan sleep... It's one of those little things that I know I'll miss as she grows up. Just being able to go into her room and listen to her little snores (yeah, she gets that from Daddy), and putting my hand on her back and feeling her breath. She ususally has her teddy bear, Snowball, in some sort of a death grip, it's all so sweet. Then there are the days that I go in and just come out laughing... like this nap yesterday... Please note that her bottom is completely in the air and not even resting on her feet. How on earth is that comfortable? But she slept like this for an amazing 2 1/2 hour nap yesterday. So who am I to question the validity of anyone's napping form, I guess?!?!?